Archive for July 2010

It can be frustrating when you and your clients are at odds with one another. It happens for many reasons and when it does, you run the risk of losing the client. Obviously, consultants aren't in the business of LOSING clients. The goal is to make them as happy as possible. But there are times when meeting a client half way becomes more than a challenge. The best way to nip this in the bud? Make sure you and your clients are always on the same page.

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My favorite: Know when to let go

There may be clients you just can't see eye to eye with. Maybe there are personality issues, maybe a job went wrong and the client can't seem to forgive you. Regardless of the reason, you need to know when a consultant-client relationship simply will not work. It will be far better for your business not to string that client along (for fear of losing business) than to keep an unhappy client around. The longer you retain such clients, the more likely you are to develop a bad reputation. And the last thing you need is word getting around that you can't be trusted, that your work is subpar, or whatever gripe that client has. When you see a relationship isn't going to work out, end it professionally. Refer the client to someone who can help them. Do whatever it takes to leave as much of that bridge unburned as possible. There may be a time when that client, based on your professionalism, will refer another client to you.

I ran across the post below on another blog, written by Jason Seiden. He was talking about Human Resources, but this really applies to anymore in business. We too frequently don’t know the end game of how our solutions fit into the greater scheme of a company, and we should care. Especially as a consultant, it should be our job to find out. Unless you’re building widgets (and even then), each of us plays a small part in how we add value to the greater good of the company.

Every time I start with a new company or a new contract, I walk around and ask questions about how people do their job. I don’t ask the veep’s — I usually ask people in the trenches what the customers want. They’ll give you the straight up, non-politicized answer, and sometimes, they’ll give you that one little nugget that makes all the difference in the world.

UX people especially aren’t a system administrator where all our job consists of is keeping things running; we’re right in the middle of the business process. We should care.

She's right, so I posted a solution — a solution that applies not only to HR, but really to anybody with a job anywhere in the organization. It goes like this:

Find out how your company makes money.

Once a week for the next four weeks, take one of your lunch hours and go talk with people in various parts of your company who can explain to you, in plain English, exactly how raw materials become finished goods (or how ideas become service offerings), and how sales happen, from initial contact to cash in the bank.

Take them to lunch.

Buy lunch for both of you.

Tell them it's your way of compensating them for answering what you're certain will be an hour's worth of rudimentary questions, and for helping you out.

Some topics you might want to ask about:

Marketing decisions: who are your target markets? Why?

What's the plan moving forward?

How does the company generate prospecting lists?

How is sales organized?

Who builds sales demos?

Incentive programs for customersâ€¦ and incentive programs for the salespeopleâ€¦ motivate what behaviors?

Are products discounted?

Who responds to RFPs? Who finds out about them?

Invoicing & collections: how quickly do your clients pay?

How tight are the daily delivery routes?

How well is the warehouse managed? What does it look like? How disciplined are the workers there?

What's the real impact of unionization on the floor workers?

Real estate: does your company own or lease? Why?

Who owns purchasing decisions?

Does the company hedge fuel purchases?

Why do some departments charge others for their work? That seems crazy!

Major client accounts: how much of the overall revenue do they represent?

What is the driving factor behind internal technology decisions?

What's the impact on IT costs if one person brings in their own laptop to work?

Are our HR policies driven to create a culture, protect against lawsuits, or both? And if "both," then which is the higher priority?

What's the CEO like, as a person? Is our company reflective of his/her personality?

Who has the data on our customers/clients purchasing habits? If I wanted to crunch it in order to look for trends, how could I get that data, and who would I give the results of my work to?

What does the company do with its cash? Does it have a huge checking account? Does it invest in 1-year bonds?

Who is on the Board of Directors, and why?

What are the company's loan obligations? What impact do those obligations have on the firm's ability to take risks or make investments?

What new strategic projects are planned for next year?

What strategic projects are being considered?

What does top management see as the number one obstacle to growth?

What do the rank and file see as the number one obstacle to growth?

See where this is going?

Build an understanding of the business. Armed with that knowledge, you'll automatically become more effective at your job. And, you'll get seen as someone who cares.

(Now, if you lack the curiosity or authenticity to ask these questions and genuinely care about the answer, don't do this. Then you'll be seen as a fraud and people will resent you wasting their time.)

In some cultures complex products are more appealing than products that appear simple. In South Korea, for example, products like refrigerators are designed to appear more complex than non-Korean ones, even when the prices and specifications are very similar, because that complexity is equated with sophistication and value, and is thus a symbol of prosperity.

Don Norman’s justification…

Why are Yahoo! and MSN such complex-looking places? Because their systems are easier to use. Not because they are complex, but because they simplify the life of their users by letting them see their choices on the home page: news, alternative searches, other items of interest.

It’s really in context. On-Star hides it’s complexity behind a single button or automated systems, but it’s still complex. Some products (think that The Onion Video about Sony) should be complex because of the context of their user base. It’s all about who you’re targeting.

Each points offers some simple suggestions and points to consider when designing. Potential design patterns are recommended (and linked to) as examples for what could be done in your interface as you design and grow your service. Keep in mind that your context will dictate different specific solutions but the questions and concepts to think about will still be applicable.

As with any successful, new, and vaguely-defined industry, the User Experience field has brought with it a lot of confusion, and created a lot of confused people. Confused clients, who know they need User Experience expertise but are unsure of how to get it, and a confused work-force, who has started labeling themselves as User Experience experts without really understanding it. This group is very well-intentioned, and either doesn’t know the difference between what they do and real User Experience work or are just as eager to learn as anyone else. Yet they know that talking about User Experience sells projects and so continue to talk it up.

What Makes A User Experience Expert?

They run discovery sessions.

They focus on user stories.

They do user research.

They’re often not visual designers.

Finally, they know that good User Experience is really the same thing as Customer Service.

Working too much is likely to decrease your productivity, leave you creatively drained, and negatively effect relationships with friends and family. Don't get me wrong, pursuing your passion is a beautiful gift and there is nothing wrong with working hard on projects you love. However, it's essential to take breaks. Whether you're working from home or in an office environment it's essential to nourish your creative spirit.

Favorites…

Unplug from the internet. Getting work done doesn't require an internet connection. It's amazing what can happen when you step out from behind the computer screen or your mobile device. Most of my killer ideas come to me when I'm taking a shower, on a walk, cooking a meal, and "not working."

Everyone is creative and ideas can come to you at odd moments. Just because you have an idea doesn't mean you have to implement it right away. Keep a journal with you at all times so that you can capture your idea and enjoy your down time.

And…

Constantly question your goals and life purpose. It's important to continually reevaluate your goals, life purpose and behaviors. For example if you constantly stay late at the office, sacrifice personal relationships because of work, or check your email obsessively, ask yourself:

When I asked Resolve about the age groups of iPad users, I found out some other interesting information. The first owners of the iPad tended to be young professionals, 22-45, who were either early adopters in general or had a highly connected and mobile lifestyle.

However, the next group of adopters and those interested in buying an iPad are much older than the one might expect (45+). Anecdotally, I've seen this in my own travels and discussions with iPad or future iPad owners. The first wave of iPad owners were people like myself. The second wave of iPad owners, at least from what I'm seeing, have more in common with my parents.

Not surprised. I’ve been discussing this with a few friends. If the iPad had been around before, this would have been the device they bought before an iPod. Using it is so easy to use, I can’t imagine older users having issues, especially with a clearer, larger screen than an iPod.

Network effects can be your friend or your enemy depending on whether your product has reached critical mass. Getting to critical mass in complementary network effect markets is sometimes called overcoming the "chicken and egg problem." Back in graduate school (2003), my friend Jeff Rhodes and I wrote a paper titled "Six Strategies for Overcoming the â€˜Chicken and Egg' Problem in Complement-Based Network Effects Markets." This is a frequent challenge when launching technology products, yet at least at the time we had seen very few people try to systematically document strategies for overcoming it. Some of our examples are a bit dated now, but if you are interested in this topic you might like the full paper.